Satellite observations of asymmetrical physical and biological responses to Hurricane Earl

Asymmetrical physical and biological responses to Hurricane Earl in 2010 are revealed with a combined data set of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) ocean color and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer EOS (AMSR‐E) SST observations onboard the satellite Aqua. Hurricane Earl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2011-02, Vol.38 (4), p.np-n/a
Main Authors: Shi, Wei, Wang, Menghua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asymmetry
Biological
Biological oceanography
Chemical oceanography
Chlorophyll
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Geophysics
Hurricane Earl
hurricane response
Hurricanes
Imaging
Ocean color
Oceans
Physical oceanography
remote sensing
Spectroradiometers
SST
Thermocline
Water column
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Summary:Asymmetrical physical and biological responses to Hurricane Earl in 2010 are revealed with a combined data set of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) ocean color and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer EOS (AMSR‐E) SST observations onboard the satellite Aqua. Hurricane Earl induced broad SST drops and elevated chlorophyll‐a concentrations along its track. The ocean's physical and biological responses are notably right‐biased when the hurricane passed along the U.S. East Coast. In the ranges within 100 km off the track, the SST dropped 1.85°C and 1.23°C on the right and left sides, respectively. On the other hand, the ratios of the chlorophyll‐a concentration before and after the passage of Hurricane Earl are 2.04 on the right side and 1.33 on the left. In addition to the satellite‐observed sea surface changes, temperature and salinity profiles of an Argo float on Earl's track show the ocean's physical response occurred mostly within the mixed layer and thermocline in the upper 70 m water column.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2010GL046574